Overview
Deafblindness results from a combination of hearing and vision loss or impairment, and every person with deafblindness will have a different experience of it. The degree of vision and/or hearing that a person has will vary, but most people with deafblindness will have some vision and/or hearing.3
There are different types of deafblindness:
- congenital deafblindness where a person is born with a condition or conditions that impact their vision and hearing
- acquired deafblindness where someone loses their hearing or vision later in life
- people with a condition called Usher Syndrome where they are born deaf and develop vision impairment later in life.4
Important things to know about deafblindness
- The deafblind community is diverse with varying degrees of hearing and vision loss, sometimes accompanied by other disabilities.
- Deafblindness has significant impact on people’s communication and daily lives and people with deafblindness face greater barriers to employment than people without disabilities.5
- In Australia, estimates suggest that almost 100,000 people are deafblind, with two-thirds aged over 65 years.6
A note about language
Deafblindness is sometimes also called ‘dual sensory loss’ or ‘dual sensory impairment’. Some people with deafblindness identify as being part of the Deafblind community, but most people with deafblindness do not, and many do not identify as being deafblind. When communicating with a person with deafblindness, it is important to respect their identity and use the terms they identify with.7
Communication
The deafblind community is diverse and people with deafblindness have diverse communication and access needs and technical requirements. People with deafblindness experience different causes and presentations of vision and hearing impairment. They may also be living with multiple or complex disability that might influence their communication support needs.
The most common forms of communication used by deafblind people in Australia include:
- Speaking and listening
- Auslan (Australian sign language) interpretation, including a number of modified sign language variations to suit the individual such as visual frame, tracking and close range sign.
- Tactile Sign Language, this includes hand over hand signing.
- Alternative and Augmented Communication (AAC), which includes things like touch cues/social haptics, pictographs and key word signs
- printed words or Braille, including print on palm and electronic communications such as email and text messages.8
Key strategies for success
With the right support people with deafblindness can make a valuable contribution to a workplace. Some strategies to support this include:
- understanding the person’s needs for communication support and how this will be provided during the job search and recruitment process is critical to better employment outcomes
- familiarising yourself with the different ways that communication support might be accessed e.g. Auslan and modified sign language interpreters [link to Deafblind Australia Deafblind communication(Opens in a new tab/window) for more information]
- offering flexibility in work design and individualised support is a key factor in finding a job and promoting wellbeing at work9
- exploring what kind of workplace adjustments might be funded by the Employment Assistance Fund(Opens in a new tab/window) to support a person with deafblindness commences work e.g. assistive technologies, Auslan and other interpreting services.10
People with deafblindness require services that are specific to each individual’s needs and not a combination of services designed for blind or deaf people.
The person with deafblindness that you are working with is an expert on the supports and adjustments that will help them to do their job safely and effectively, so getting to know them is a priority.